social status, ethnicity and perhaps an infinite amount of cultural' variables. Whilst post-modern thinkers advocate interpretation of results, anti-posivitists/pro-objectivi sts see all interpretation as false, as Murphy writes: Interpretative anthropology is a covering label for a diverse set of [biased] reflections upon the practice of ethnography and the concept of culture'. Melford Spiro concludes:
while insight and empathy are critical in the study of mind and culture...intellectual responsibility requires objective (scientific methods) in the social sciences. Without objective procedures ethnography is empirically dubious and intellectually irresponsible' (Spiro, 1996)
Ethnography, it seems, takes too much for granted in that cultural construction here is to be understood in terms of the unequal distribution of power.' (Abercrombie/Longhurst, 1998. pg 25) Because this type of research is still essentially marxist' and based on different kinds of power relations, especially class' (ibid.), it could be argued that beyond the criticism of subjectivity, in a media saturated world the ethnographer cannot be everywhere and risks the issue of positioned truths' (Ang, 1996. pg 80). In essence, the ethnographer is anchored by cultures that he/she already believes they understand to some extent (ie. For Willis, teen life in Britain he experienced this himself, the culture was not alien to him). That in ignoring this, we risk succumbing to sweeping generalizations which could only slight the scope of difference and variation that still exist.' (ibid.)
For example, ethnographic flaws can be seen in the work of British based market research company Gutsy' who use such techniques to create advertising plans for their clients. In one such case study, they tried to gain people's thoughts about the new Smart' car by parking it in view of the subjects (mainly upper-working and middle class Londoners during their lunch break from work). It was constrained to a pre-conceived target audience busy London streets populated by people with fairly' secure jobs and disposable income and underpinned with the notion of making profit, both from the client and the ethnographic researchers themselves. Gusty' had to produce what the client wanted so instead of studying behavior itself (Thompson's argument), they created such behavior instead of people's reaction as the car drove by, they placed the car in direct view and through direct and anchored questioning, forced the audience to form
Below are the top articles rated and ranked by Helium members on:
Add your voice
Know something about The importance of ethnography in media research?
We want to hear your view.
Write now!
Featured Partner
International Journalists' Network
The International Journalists' Network (IJNet) is the world's premier resource for the media assistance community. It...more
hide